Sunday, September 27, 2015

The federal government has revoked the citizenship of an Islamic extremist who masterminded a plot to bomb downtown Toronto in an effort to terrorize Canadians and cripple the economy.A member of the so-called Toronto 18, Zakaria Amara was sentenced in 2010 to life in prison with no chance of parole until 2016 after admitting his role in the plan aimed in part at forcing Canadian soldiers to leave Afghanistan.Defence Minister Jason Kenney sent a tweet describing him as a man who hated Canada so much that he “forfeited his own citizenship” by plotting to murder hundreds of Canadians.
I understand that the crimes of the Toronto 18 are horrendous, and an affront to Canadians who value their country and their lives. But even though Amara is a duel citizen, and has another country to land in should that ever be necessary, at one point in his life, Canadians believed he was qualified by every measure to be a citizen. When he committed these crimes, he belonged to us.

How secure is citizenship if the government of the day decides that if you break this or that law, they have the right to strip it from you? Amara is a terrorist - but what if, say cyber criminals become a target? Or habitual criminals? Or any violent offender - even one who commits a minor violent offense? It seems to me that the Harper government wants to be able to say Amara wasn't "one of us" or he wouldn't have done what he did. If he was, well, now we've disowned him.

I believe this is terrible policy in regard to Citizenship. I believe if a country takes you in as a citizen, you are theirs for better or for worse. There can not be two classes of Canadian citizen. Those with dual citizenship cannot worry that future winds of change may allow their hard won rights to be stripped from them.

I'm fairly certain this law will be challenged. I hope it is. The precedent it sets is dangerous and demotivational for anyone thinking of becoming a Canadian citizen.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

After a prolonged hiatus from The Expatriate Mind, I will be returning to the blog shortly to focus on Canadian citizenship issues. 2016 will be the year I make my own application, and I thought that just as you dear readers around the world shared my immigration story, you might also be well served to get a first hand account of the citizenship process.

So look for new posts coming with my usual mix of how-to, news, and opinion on citizenship issues facing immigrants and Canadians in general. I'm excited to start this new adventure with you!